SP Hinduja dies at 87, the chairman of Hinduja Group leaves a lasting global business legacy

SP Hinduja was the head of the Hinduja family and Chairman of the Hinduja Group.

Srichand Parmanand Hinduja, the eldest of the four Hinduja brothers and chairman of the Hinduja Group, died in London on Wednesday at the age of 87. The leader who was described as the key decision-maker by those who knew him had been ailing for the last few years. The Hinduja family's business straddles banking, chemicals and healthcare and employs roughly two lakh people globally. The family is among the wealthiest in the United Kingdom.

The British national was credited with having founded IndusInd Bank and was born in Pakistan.

At an Asian Who’s Who Awards TV interview where he was part of the selection committee in 2011, Hinduja commented on the creation of a Eurozone and how much work would have to be done in striving towards fixing the failures of the financial system that included the regulators. He went on to say that Europe would continue to be positive for their group because they anticipated women WORLD disruptions in as early as in 2007 but that the broader solution would have to be collective measures for all countries in Europe and not just one country.

Prakash Chhabria, Chairman of Finolex Industries, and who is related to Hinduja and is nephew, said Hinduja was “a very generous human being, dedicated family man, humble and yet entirely astute at business. That was reflected in the fact that he and the group were willing to enter into international ventures and at a time when hardly any, if at all, business houses had taken the call to do so”.

The groups’ listed ventures include Ashok Leyland, IndusInd Bank, Gulf Oil Lubricants India, Hinduja Global Solutions, NXTDIGITAL (now NDL Ventures) and GOCL Corporation. But business also extended beyond traditional sectors.

As producers and distributors, the Hinduja Group had an association with the industry from the 1950s, including successful associations Raj Kapoor and Dev Anand, and a partnership with Manmohan Desai that led to films like ‘Naseeb’ and ‘Coolie’ starring Amitabh Bachchan.

As the eldest son of PD Hinduja, SP Hinduja was the head of the Hinduja family and Chairman of the Hinduja Group and its charitable foundations. He was married to Madhu Hinduja, and the couple have two daughters Shanu and Vinoo.

In a TV interview circa 2009, when asked about the influence wielded by the business group and the network it had created, Hinduja's responded, “Our objective is totally different. We never meet a head of state for favouritism or asking for something for the group. Our philosophy is that when we are operating globally we should be concerned about the people, the host country as well as the mother country. And once we operate that way we are not pro or anti anyone and we are not branded as (pro) any political party.”

Cyril Shroff, Managing Partner at Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, who has known Hinduja for several years, said, “He (Srichand Hinduja) was a stalwart. May his soul rest in peace. The world will miss him.”

The family has always been known to be low-key and had their business origins in Iran where they started out as traders. Following the Islamic revolution, they relocated to the UK in the early 1980s. In Iran, the business family's success had begun with their father, Parmanand Hinduja, who hailed from present day Pakistan. His business journey had started in Mumbai importing carpets, dried fruits and saffron from Iran, and exporting textiles, tea and other spices to foreign countries.

Akash Paul, Chairman of Caparo India and a member of the Caparo Group board, said, “He was truly a gentleman and affectionate to younger generation members like me. Wishing prayers for a wonderful journey for his beloved soul.”

In a chairman’s statement on the Group’s website, Hinduja had been quoted as saying, “In the mission to promote business and humanitarian activities in India and abroad, our aim is to help build bridges between the past and the present, between India and the world, and between the generations that are and the generations that are yet to come.”